


A Touch of Jade

by buriedandreset



Series: Wraith/Loba [3]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:36:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27644237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buriedandreset/pseuds/buriedandreset
Summary: Wraith and Ajay share some time together, and jealousy starts to rear its ugly head when Loba catches on. But Wraith is also in the middle of an existential crisis, and she eventually talks about it with Loba.
Relationships: Loba Andrade/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Series: Wraith/Loba [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021291
Comments: 11
Kudos: 21





	A Touch of Jade

**Author's Note:**

> It is partially inspired by the user Scarlettite with the jealousy angle. However after getting some new in-game voice lines of late, it ended up taking more of a heart-to-heart turn.

After the incident of having gotten shot, Wraith had actually taken great pains to take care of the wound as best as she could. Though she had, eventually, gone to Ajay and had her check it over to make sure it was healing properly. Luckily Loba had done an excellent job of treating it, but that hadn’t been enough to save Wraith from getting lectured by the medic about having gotten hurt in the first place. It didn’t matter to Wraith, she’d suffered through far worse than a gunshot to the shoulder. So she’d simply shrugged off Ajay’s lecture and moved on.

Though after that, Wraith had taken some pains to make sure she didn’t jostle the wound while it finished healing. Using high-caliber weapons was definitely out of the question due to the recoil. She was even overly careful when it came to melee combat. However, during the Games that day, someone had landed a punch to the wounded shoulder. The wound wasn’t fresh, it had been healing for some time, but the area was still sensitive. After the Games, Wraith was gently rubbing her shoulder, silently willing the pain to stop.

“Hey, you okay, Wraith? Your shoulder actin’ up again?” Ajay asked, coming up to Wraith.

“It’s not a big deal. Just took a punch to the area today and it’s sore.” Wraith said.

“Let me take a look at it just to be sure nothing’s gone wrong.” Ajay insisted. While Wraith attempted to protest, the medic wasn’t taking no for an answer. She guided Wraith over to an area with some privacy from prying eyes.

Well, at least the type of prying eyes that hadn’t seen the two moving in that direction and wondered what was going on. Loba sauntered after them, initially concerned that her girlfriend had been injured in the Arena. While she wasn’t going to intrude on the situation, she just wanted to make sure everything was fine. By the time Loba got over there and to a point where she could see what was going on, Wraith was topless, save for her bra.

“You need to be more careful,” Ajay stated as she examined Wraith’s shoulder. There was a slight wince as Ajay pressed against a sensitive area. “You’re not bullet proof. And this is still healing. The muscle can take time to heal itself.”

“I know. I didn’t throw my shoulder in the way of the punch, you know,” Wraith deadpanned in response.

“If you ask me, you’re the type to do exactly that if it means to stop someone else from getting hurt.” Ajay pointed out.

“You really think that?” Wraith asked, though it was a serious question. While the tone of her voice was even, Loba read something in her body language that screamed that the response would mean more than anyone could really know.

“Of course. You got a heart of gold buried in there, it’s plain as day to anyone who cares to look. You would do anything to protect the people you care about.” Ajay responded. It was honest and sincere, and the way her hands moved around Wraith’s shoulder were just as honest and sincere.

“I see,” Wraith responded, taking that answer to heart. She didn’t know what to really make of it. There had once been a time when she’d been afraid that she’d never remember who she’d been before the experiments. And now, the more she learned about who Renee Blasey was, the more afraid she’d become to learn more. She didn’t want to be that cold person she read about that everyone seemed to hate, or at least resented.

Ajay looked at Wraith for a moment. “You don’t believe that, do you?” That was a rhetorical question because they both knew the answer to that. “You are a good person. If you weren’t, you’d probably rub people the wrong way by just existing, the way Revenant does. Far as I can tell, people like you. And you put up with Elliot’s antics for longer than anyone else would. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t punched him.”

“He means well, he just doesn’t use his head before speaking or doing something.” Oh there were days when Wraith wanted to punch Elliot, but when he made mistakes, he did do his best to make up for them. And really, sometimes it was difficult to resist his irritating charm and wit.

He did live up to his last name. Sometimes.

Smiling, Ajay knelt down, testing out just how far the pain went for Wraith. She added pressure along a few spots on her chest, some that made Loba’s eye twitch slightly. Ajay was getting dangerously close to crossing a line and meeting _her_ fist.

Wraith hissed at a jolt of pain. Ajay retracted her hand, giving her a soft smile. “Sometimes I think you live upto your name and feel no pain. It’s good to know you’re human just like the rest of us.”

“I have my moments,” Wraith said, giving Ajay a little lopsided smile. Though internally she tended to question the human part sometimes. The voices and the Void made her feel quite the opposite of human sometimes.

Loba managed to take a slow breath and collect herself before she made her presence known and walked in. “What have we here? Everything alright?” She asked, trying to be nonchalant about it, or giving away the fact she’d actually been watching them the whole time.

The instant Wraith realized Loba was there, she was quick to make a slight adjustment to her posture, turning the inside of her arms away from easy view by both Loba and Ajay. “The medic here insisted on checking my shoulder after I took a punch to it in the Arena.”

“Oh? Well, I do hope everything is in order. I would hate to see a fighter of your caliber having to sit out to heal.” Of course, Loba knew about Wraith’s injury all too well. She still hated knowing that it had been her fault Wraith had gotten shot in the first place.

“Look who’s talkin’,” Ajay said, turning her gaze on Loba. “I know what happened. Next time try not to leave pieces of our friends behind or you’ll have to answer to me.”

“I didn’t leave pieces of Wraith behind, only blood. She didn’t lose her arm or anything so drastic.” Loba fired back. It was largely a defensive reflex, but she did know that Wraith hadn’t been seriously injured. “If the wound had been bad, I would’ve called you or taken her to a hospital.”

“Ya still shoulda called me.” Ajay stood her ground, though she wasn’t really angry, just protective of people she considered friends. And she liked Wraith. “Still, you did good tending the wound. It shouldn’t leave a scar.”

Loba preened under the praise. “Thank you. I like to think I can do a decent job, though I’m no medic or surgeon.”

“With nails like yours, you’d make a terrible surgeon,” Ajay quipped. That got a laugh from Loba, and the tension was effectively cut. “Alright, things are looking good, but take care of yourself, ya hear me?” She then turned and gave Loba a little pointed look. “And next time, don’t get her shot.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Loba replied with a nod of her head. Ajay left and Wraith quickly pulled her top back on. Loba turned her full attention to her girlfriend, concern on her face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just took a punch to my bad shoulder today. Nothing more than that. Ajay insisted on checking it over.” Wraith said as she stood up.

“That’s a relief. I don’t like seeing you getting hurt.” Loba purred as she stepped into Wraith’s personal space. While she might normally use the opportunity to steal a kiss, Loba instead reached out and brushed the backs of her fingers along Wraith’s cheek.

“I like not getting hurt,” Wraith responded, leaning into Loba’s touch. She closed her eyes briefly, using this to re-center herself. While the voices didn’t have an off-switch, they were quiet currently, and it made Wraith feel a little odd after having competed in the Arena with the voices going off left and right. The sudden peace paired with the swirl of emotions the talk with Ajay had brought up made her need some physical contact. So she closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Loba’s back and pressing her face into Loba’s shoulder.

The hug took Loba a little by surprise, but she didn’t hesitate in wrapping her arms around Wraith and holding her close. She was still learning how to read the nuances in Wraith, but this was definitely more than just a normal hug. This was something more, and Loba was more than happy to provide the comfort. She soothingly rubbed Wraith’s back, keeping her other arm tightly wrapped around her. She could feel that Wraith was tense, but as Loba continued to hold her close, she felt her relax against her, little by little.

Finally after a little while, Wraith turned her head so it was resting on Loba’s shoulder. “Thank you, I needed to be centered.”

“You don’t need to thank me, beautiful. I’m always happy to hold you whenever you need or want it.” Loba was glad that Wraith was relaxing, that was definitely a good thing. “What would you say to having dinner with me?”

“I’d love to, but I need to stop by Elliot’s bar first. I need to read him the riot act over his financials. Again.” Wraith rolled her eyes. “You can meet me there and later, and then we can go to dinner?”

“It’s a date,” Loba responded as she looked at Wraith with a smile. “Are you up for going out or would you rather stay in for dinner?”

“Let’s go out.” Wraith stated.

“Alright, beautiful. I know just the place to go. Nothing black-tie, but you’ll want to wear something on the nicer side.”

“Oh, well in that case, I should get going so I have enough time to get ready.” Wraith quipped with a smile. She leaned up and kissed Loba for several moments before she reluctantly pulled away and went on her way. Loba gazed after her, a little smile on her lips. The feeling of jealousy from earlier had been forgotten. For now, she had a date to prepare for. Luckily she knew she could get a reservation at the restaurant she had in mind without any trouble.

Wraith had gone home to shower and change into black pants, dark purple shirt and a suit jacket that matched the pants. She then headed over to Elliot’s bar to read him the riot act. However, when she got there, he was nowhere to be found, though Ajay was sitting at the bar.

“Hey, have you seen Elliot?” Wraith asked Ajay as she approached.

“Ramya dragged him off by his ear about twenty minutes ago. Somethin’ about him causin’ some trouble for her again.” Ajay explained. Wraith shook her head.

“He’ll never learn.” Wraith took a seat next to Ajay deciding to just wait for Loba to show up. Chances were that Loba would arrive before Elliot escaped Ramya’s wrath. This really only lent more credence to Wraith’s incessant teasing of Ramya about being Elliot’s “special friend.” She’d have to poke fun at them both for this latest happening.

Ajay looked Wraith over, suddenly noticing the way she was dressed. “Hey, you look nice. Gota date or somethin’?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Wraith deadpanned, looking at Ajay with a serious expression on her face.

“Oh c’mon! I can keep a secret if ya ain’t ready to tell anyone.” The medic was _extremely_ curious as to why Wraith was dressed up. It may not qualify as dressed up for other people, but it was enough of a departure from Wraith’s normal attire that she knew _something_ was up.

At Ajay’s insistence, Wraith couldn’t _quite_ contain the smile. Her eyes even lit up in a way Ajay hadn’t seen before. “I do, in fact, have a date. I’ll be meeting them here in a while.”

“Ya killin’ me, girl! Now I gotta wait around and see who’s picking you up.” Ajay stated.

“Fine by me. Though it doesn’t really need to stay a secret. It’s just...not something I’ve had before, and I didn’t want to jinx it or something before it really got started.” Wraith explained.

“I understand. Sometimes new things can be both scary and amazing at the same time. But judging by the sparkle in your eye and the smile on your face, I don’t think you’re jinxing it. I’ve never seen your eyes sparkle the way they are now, so trust me when I say you got somethin’ good.” Of course, Ajay was intensely curious as to _whom_ Wraith was going on a date with. She had a thought about who it could be, but she’d find out soon enough.

In the interim, they fell into easy conversation. It was largely laughing about Octavio and Elliot’s misadventures and some wondering of what Ramya was currently doing to Elliot. There was a lot of laughing involved. It was a little unnerving to Ajay to see Wraith laugh this much, but she was certain that was due to whomever was going on a date with her.

“Now I keep wondering if there isn’t something more between Elliot and Ramya than simply being roommates,” Wraith noted.

“I’ve wondered that myself! Though I also have thought Elliot had some sort of attraction to Crypto. He’s an odd one to read. Hell, I thought Elliot had a thing for you for a while!” Ajay confessed. Wraith blinked at that.

“Wait, what? You thought Elliot liked me?” That took Wraith by surprise.

“I did, but as I said, he can be hard to read. He’s like Loba, always with the flirting so it can be difficult to tell when he’s being serious about it.” Ajay noted. “Still, Ramya does him some good. He needs someone that can keep him in line.”

“More like keep him on a leash, you mean,” Wraith retorted. They both broke out into laughter at that.

It was at that precise moment that Loba strutted into the bar in a rather dazzling outfit. It seemed to be an upscale version of what she wore in the Apex Games, high heeled boots included. She quickly spotted Wraith sitting at the bar, and she was...laughing. With Ajay. Who was getting just a little _too_ close to Wraith for her liking. So she decided to insert herself into the equation.

“Well, what have we here?” Loba asked as she sauntered up to the other two Legends and stood close to Wraith, her gaze laser-focused on Ajay. While there was a pleasant expression on her face, there was a sharpness in her gaze that told the medic to back off.

“Hey, Loba,” Ajay said, eyeing the thief a bit warily. She was initially confused by the way the woman was looking at her.

“We were just telling stories about Octavio and Elliot. We came to the conclusion that both of them are walking miracles for still being alive after all the stunts they’ve pulled.” Wraith stated, looking up at Loba, though she saw the look in her girlfriend’s eyes and she frowned a little. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh everything is fine,” Loba replied smoothly, her gaze not leaving Ajay.

“Wait a second. Loba’s the one you’re going on a date with?” Ajay suddenly asked as things dawned on her.

“Yes, she is,” Wraith confirmed.

“Well, that’s not the person I’d thought you had a date with. But hey, don’t let me keep you two from your date.” Ajay stated.

“Don’t worry, you aren’t,” Loba responded, her tone of voice was in that zone of being too sweet that it was dripping with jealous venom.

“Whoa, hey now, calm down, Andrade. I ain’t here makin’ moves on your girl. She’s a friend, nothin’ more.” Ajay retorted.

“Who said I was jealous?” Loba asked.

“Everythin’ from your tone of voice to the look in your eyes. But it’s good to see a little jealousy, means you actually care about her. Just be sure to not get her hurt this time around, alright? I think you two deserve a quiet evening together.” Ajay stood up from her seat and headed off. “I’ll see you both later.”

Wraith watched Ajay go, then looked up at Loba. “You didn’t have to be so rude, you know.”

Loba also watched Ajay leave before she shook her head and took a slow breath before looking back at Wraith. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve been jealous.”

“Admitting it is the first step,” Wraith commented before she tilted her head in thought. “But you’re actually jealous of Ajay?”

“Not specifically her, just in this instance, yes. I can be...territorial. And it’s been a while since I was last with anyone I really liked. I hadn’t seen you laugh like that before, and I jumped to conclusions.” Loba admitted.

Wraith reached out and took Loba’s hand in hers, giving it a little squeeze. “It has been a while since I laughed like that, but it wasn’t from anything beyond friendship. I only have eyes for you.” She then gave Loba a little knowing look. “And I know you were watching Ajay and I for longer than you pretended you were earlier.”

“You do?” Loba asked.

It made Wraith tense up a little, but she wasn’t ready to have a Certain Conversation. Though it hadn’t even been the voices that had alerted her to Loba’s presence, she just tended to know when people were watching her. “I can tell when people are watching me.” It was a good way to get around the subject she didn’t want to get into in public. “You were jealous of her hands on me, weren’t you?”

“I couldn’t help it. You were shirtless in front of her, and you’re very easy on the eyes.” Loba added.

“Thanks, though you should try to remember she is a medic. She wanted to check how my shoulder was and you know she doesn’t take no for an answer where potential injuries are concerned.”

Loba gave a little nod. “You’re right, and I’m sorry for coming across as rude. Jealousy is a green-eyed monster, after all.”

“Just don’t let it take over completely. I like you when you’re not a jealous monster.” Wraith said with a little smirk.

“Good because I like not being a jealous monster. I prefer lavishing you in good feelings.” Loba responded with a smirk of her own. “And on that note, you look very beautiful,” she complimented. Loba could’ve sworn that there was a little bit of a blush on Wraith’s cheeks.

“Thank you. You look very beautiful yourself,” Wraith replied.

“Thanks. Now, shall we head off to dinner?” Loba asked. Wraith nodded.

“Yeah. I never got to talk to Elliot, Ramya dragged him off somewhere. I’ll have to find him tomorrow. But this evening, I’m all yours.” Wraith stated as she stood up.

“Good, I do love having you all to myself,” Loba purred as she led the way out.

Once they were seated and had their order in, Loba decided to gently prod at something. She wouldn’t get too inquisitive about it if Wraith didn’t want to open up, but she was wanting to make sure she was okay.

“So, we’ve established that I was, indeed, eavesdropping on you and Ajay while she examined your shoulder earlier. So I heard that little exchange about you being a good person. You didn’t seem to take it well. You don’t have to go into detail, but I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.” Loba did her best to word the question carefully and give Wraith an out of discussing the topic if she wasn’t ready to.

Wraith stiffened a little bit, fiddling with her wine glass for a few moments in silence. “I don’t really know how to answer that. I guess the best way of putting it is that I’m both okay and not okay about it?” She lifted her gaze to Loba’s, taking a breath. “But it’s not something I want to get into in public.”

“Of course. Just know that if there comes a time when you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll listen. Doesn’t matter what time of day or night it is, I’m here for you when you need me.” Loba knew that Wraith had her own demons she was fighting, and fighting demons was something the thief was more than familiar with. Though she well knew the demons they both fought were different, she still understood the struggle and sometimes one woke up in the middle of night and needed a friendly ear.

“Thank you, that means a lot to me.” Wraith stated. “The same goes for you. I’m here for you when you need me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Loba _did_ have a lot on her mind lately in regards to Revenant’s source code, but she wasn’t exactly ready to talk about that either. But it was nice to have someone there for her when she needed it. Loba didn’t have much of that, though it had been of her own doing by keeping people at a distance so she wouldn’t get too close to them. “But for now, how about some happier subject. So Elliot and Ramya?”

Wraith couldn’t help but to chuckle. “I don’t think they’re _actually_ together, but I’ve had some fun teasing Ramya about it. Still, they bicker like an old, married couple. It’s pretty cute.”

“I’ll have to pay more attention to them next time they’re around. I’ve been a bit distracted by a certain raven-haired beauty of late to notice much else,” Loba said with a sly smile.

“And who could that be?” Wraith countered with a gleam in her eyes.

“Who indeed. She has a _very_ sharp wit, and scathing humor.” There was a matching gleam in Loba’s eyes. She did enjoy Wraith’s humor. It kept her on her toes, and she liked that.

“Well, scathing humor is always a positive. Besides, if she has your attention, she has to stay a couple steps ahead of you lest you simply teleport away.” Wraith commented, waving one hand in a mimicry of Loba tossing her jump drive.

Loba let out a laugh at that. “I am certainly hard to catch, but I must say that the object of my desire has captured and enraptured me.”

“You must think very highly of her if she’s captured your attention so completely.” Alright, so Wraith hadn’t _intended_ to turn the conversation back in a similar direction to what Ajay had said to her earlier, but it _was_ on her mind. And sometimes she didn’t feel like she was actually appreciated for who she was.

Sometimes, she herself didn’t even know who she was. Wraith was in the middle of having another existential crisis with everything she was finding out about who she was, and she wasn’t sure if she had memories coming back to her or not.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that this conversation was hitting on the same thing Ajay had hit on earlier. As such, Loba would answer truthfully, but hopefully not in a way to make Wraith shy away from the conversation. A warm smile crossed her face as she gazed at Wraith. “I do. I happen to think she is more precious than any treasure I could ever hope to steal.”

Even with Loba’s nuanced response, it still hit Wraith hard. Her heart clenched in her chest, and for a brief moment, there was a well of emotion in her eyes before she had to look away from her girlfriend before she burst into tears. She didn’t think she was worthy of such praise, especially considering what she was learning about herself. But she wasn’t that cold person anymore, was she? She didn’t want to be that woman again. She even hesitated to use her name because she felt a disconnect from it. Wraith was much more _her_ , but what if she started getting her memory back? Would she get the behaviors and personality back as well?

Noticing the swell of emotion in Wraith, Loba reached out and set her hand over Wraith’s giving it a little squeeze. “I didn’t mean to make you emotional, but it is the truth,” she said gently.

“It’s okay. I’m just...not used to hearing that sort of thing.” Wraith stated after taking a steadying breath. She looked back at Loba now that she felt she wouldn’t burst into tears at any given moment.

It was then that their food arrived, allowing for that particular subject to die without things getting awkward. They ate their dinner and made lighter conversation. However, Wraith wasn’t completely at ease. Questions about herself were still swirling in the back of her mind and she could already tell that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight, if any. Once she wasn’t around Loba anymore, she would hyper focus on the things that both Ajay and Loba had stirred up in her today.

Once they were finished with their dinner and heading out, Wraith reached out, taking Loba’s hand in hers. She wanted the contact, but it was also to get Loba’s attention. Loba threaded her fingers through Wraith’s and looked at her.

“Would you mind if I came over to your place? I...don’t want to be alone right now.” Wraith asked it a bit timidly. Even thought they were together, she didn’t want to force herself on Loba if she had other plans for the rest of the evening.

“I wouldn’t mind at all. And you can stay as long as you want,” Loba responded. She wanted to make it clear that she wasn’t going to kick Wraith out. It was clear something was weighing on her girlfriend’s mind, and she’d much rather be able to either distract her from it, or listen and comfort her if necessary.

They headed back to Loba’s place. It was a little strange for Wraith being in there. While it suited Loba perfectly, it felt a little bit like a museum with the various display cabinets and so forth. Clearly Loba kept some of her stolen treasures in plain sight. Though Wraith was willing to bet that she had some sort of vault with high security to protect some of the more priceless artifacts she had.

“Make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything to drink?” Loba asked.

“No, thank you.” Wraith went and sat down on the couch. Loba quietly followed and sat down beside her. She didn’t know if Wraith was trying to work up to saying something or not, so she didn’t try to talk, she simply offered a calming presence. She looked at Wraith, watching her fidget with the sleeve of her jacket.

Some time passed in silence as Wraith was grappling with her thoughts. She was glad that Loba wasn’t trying to fill the silence or press her into talking. But she knew that she needed to talk before her head exploded. Metaphorically speaking.

“I don’t know how much you’ve heard or even how much you know about me, but I have amnesia. I can’t remember my life from before a couple years ago. I’ve been scared that I’d never find out who I really am, but now that I’ve started getting answers, I’m afraid of knowing who I was.” Wraith said slowly. She was still dancing around the cause of her amnesia, but that would come in time.

As Wraith revealed that, suddenly so many things about her made sense to Loba. “That was why you responded the way you did when Ajay said you would throw yourself in harm’s way if it meant protecting someone you cared about.” To which, Wraith simply nodded.

“But it’s not just that. The things I’ve been finding out about Renee Blasey, about _me_ , are not flattering.” She took a breath, one hand rubbing along the forearm of her other arm. “I was a Science Pilot in the IMC, but she… _I_ , wasn’t the nicest person by what I’ve read.”

A little frown came over Loba’s face. “Are you afraid that you are the same? Or that you could become that same person again if you start remembering or read too much about her?”

“Yes. I don’t want to be cold, but I’ve kept people at an arm’s length from me for as long as I can remember that it makes me wonder if that’s what I did before. I was focused on my work and didn’t seem to care about people.” There was clear emotion in Wraith’s voice, and Loba reached over and set her hand on Wraith’s arm. The simple touch stopped Wraith from rubbing her arm and caused her to finally look at Loba.

“The simple fact that you are worrying about that proves that you are not cold. The simple fact that you are here with me right now proves that you care about something other than your work. I don’t know what happened to cause your amnesia, but I do know that you are not a cold person. You are slow to trust, and can put up walls to keep people out and to protect yourself, but I do the same. Trust does not come easily to me, and I don’t think it comes easily to you either. I didn’t know you before you got amnesia, but I can say that you are a kind, loving person who would take a bullet for people you care about. That is the furthest thing from what you have described Renee Blasey as being.”

Wraith listened to Loba, and more emotions swelled within her. “But what if I become her? What if one day, I get my memories back, and I’m not _me_ anymore?”

“I’m not an expert on how amnesia works, but I don’t think you’d just stop being you as you are now if you got your memories back. The life and experiences you’ve had in the time you’ve had the amnesia has shaped you in different ways. You wouldn’t just lose those. Maybe you’ll have to blend the two together, maybe you won’t. But what I can say for certain is that you don’t have to fight that battle on your own. You have me and several others who care about you to lean on.”

It was strange to Wraith to think that she wasn’t alone. Of course she knew that she wasn’t, but her natural tendency was still to keep everything to herself. And she suddenly wondered how much of that was from how she’d been before the experiments and how much was because of her first memories being bad ones and being slow to trust other people.

What she did know was that Loba’s words caused some cracks to grow wider in her defenses and she couldn’t hold some tears back any longer. A few found their way down her cheeks.

“I’m scared,” Wraith confessed.

“It’s okay to be scared, but as long as I can do something about it, I’m not letting you handle it alone.” Loba reached out and pulled Wraith into her arms, holding her tightly and giving her both comfort and a reinforcement that she wasn’t alone.

Wraith’s arms instantly wrapped around Loba and she pressed her face into her shoulder and pressed as close to her as she could possibly get. This time, Wraith let herself cry into Loba’s shoulder, and Loba just held her tightly and gently rubbed her back, soothing her as much as possible.

They sat like that for a while until Wraith slowly calmed down and eventually relaxed into Loba’s arms. Loba never once eased up her hold of Wraith, she kept her close against her. Even after the crying stopped, Loba didn’t let go of her. She didn’t want to let go of her if she didn’t have to. And Wraith found the warmth of Loba’s body to be comforting, and she reveled in it.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this, to deserve you, but I’m glad I did it,” Wraith finally murmured.

Loba smiled. “I’m glad you did it as well. I enjoy having you in my life.”

Wraith lifted her head to look Loba in the eye. “And I enjoy having you in mine.” She then leaned in and kissed Loba. It was languid, but there was deep emotion behind it. Loba returned the kiss whole heartedly, easily settling into it. She slid a hand up to cradle the back of Wraith’s head as they kissed. And it was one that deepened further as it lingered.

There were the proverbial sparks and fireworks in the kiss. Loba loved every moment of it. And while she wanted more of Wraith, now didn’t feel like the right time and she wasn’t going to push it. She could be patient and wait for the time to be right before taking things any further.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Wraith broke the kiss. “You have amazing lips,” she murmured.

“I could say the same about you,” Loba purred in response. There seemed to be another blush on Wraith’s cheeks at that compliment and the thief couldn’t help but to smile.

“I just want to lay here in your arms,” Wraith stated. She didn’t want to move from them. It was almost as thought Loba’s arms were the only things that were holding her together.

“Then right here in my arms is where you’ll stay. I’m not letting go of you.” Loba replied.

And that was how they stayed. Wraith felt _safe_ in Loba’s arms. Perhaps it was odd to feel safe in the arms of a notorious thief, but this thief was in the process of stealing her heart. And Wraith didn’t want to escape it. She liked the feeling of being in Loba’s arms, of feeling safe. Feeling protected. Feeling _wanted_. To Loba, she was a person and not a test subject. Not an occasional punch line for bad jokes. She was simply Wraith, and it felt right.

Of all the choices and paths she’d seen, Wraith had not foreseen _this_ particular path being the one she’d find herself on. But she was glad her choices had led her to this point, to this moment.

This was where she belonged.


End file.
